Next Stop, Wikipedia

Last night J Ryan informed me that we now have IMDB pages for the short promotional videos we wrote for the LA Music Center last year.

Midnight Madness

I'm late to post this, but last month I went to New York to work with my friends Mat and Andrea on Midnight Madness.

Midnight Madness is an annual all-night scavenger hunt and charity fundraiser on Wall Street. For the last year I've been working with Mat Laibowitz, the game's founder, to research, write, and test puzzles. During the event itself, I worked Game Control, helping to track and guide the teams through the city (and my husband Dev worked as Tech Support, installing and repairing game installations).

Dev and his multimeter

Andrea installing some of the light boxes

 

At Game Control:

 

 

 

My work station

 

 

There are some great articles about Midnight Madness here, here, here, here, here, and especially this video.

It was probably the most grueling 24 hours of my life, but I can't wait to do it again next year.

In the classroom and on the air

Last Saturday I was on the radio talking about - what else? - shipwreck songs! On Bob's No Wake Zone Boating Radio Show, on KRMS 97.5. You can catch it in the archives here.

I was also a guest on the Brock Party podcast recently, where I was talking about ghosts - and a little about shipwrecks.

Up next, I'll be doing a reading about Bollywood movies at Machine Project.

Also I'll be teaching short fiction writing in two upcoming classes at The Writing Pad. The first is an intensive one-day workshop on Sunday, September 27, from 2:30-5:30pm.

Then I'll be teaching a five-week short fiction class starting Sunday, October 4, 2:30-5:30pm, also at The Writing Pad.

Come sign up and hang out with me - there will be snacks!

Hot Dish Brunch is Back!

Hot Dish Reading Series returns to 826LA for its third annual brunch party! And we're recommended by both Time Out and KPCC!

Featuring readings by Dorothy Fortenberry, James Hannaham, Ana Kasparian, JJ Keith, Samantha Powell, and Lilliam Rivera, plus a full brunch spread and beverages!

Admission for all of this is only $10, one hundred percent of which goes to support the student programs at 826LA.

Check out our Facebook event page here.

Everyone Believes In At Least One Crazy Thing

I'm so pleased to be on Jezebel today!

Tracy Moore had some nice things to say about my piece in The Bold Italic, "Navigating All the Fringe Beliefs in L.A."

Heady Stuff from Sunset Magazine

Poetiscape Podcast this Sunday, plus a new event for LA Festival of Books

This Sunday J Ryan Stradal and I will be guests on the Poetiscape Podcast, chatting with Rich Ferguson about Hot Dish and the Los Angeles literary scene.

We'll be taping on Sunday morning and you can tune in to hear it Sunday 2pm PST/5pm EST. Go here to check it out.

Also, on Thursday April 10 Hot Dish will be joining forces with The Rumpus and The Nervous Breakdown to produce an event celebrating the LA Festival of Books, with readings and performances by Gina Frangello, Jerry Stahl, Dana Johnson, xTx, Ted Travelstead, and DJ Mira Gonzalez. For more info, click here.

Hot Dish in the L.A. Weekly

And now we're in the L.A. Weekly!

"Attracting a crowd for a literary event can be tough, but Hot Dish founders Summer Block Kumar and J. Ryan Stradal have found a way to make readings more appetizing: Provide homemade brunch and mimosas."

Come see what everyone is talking about this Sunday at 11:30am.

Hot Dish in Time Out

Thanks to Time Out Los Angeles for highlighting our next Hot Dish.  We'll be serving up brunch (and mimosas) on Sunday, March 16 at 11:30am!  As always, all proceeds go to support the wonderful work of 826LA.

If the winning combination of "day drinking, literature and humanitarian work" sounds good to you, RSVP here!

I'm in a book!

Specifically, this one. And so are a lot of my friends. So for goodness' sake, why not buy it? It comes out June 14 but you can pre-order it now! In both paper and digital forms.

Small News is Good News

Another nice if brief mention of my story "“The New Yorker Fiction Section Presents: Killer Robots From Space" in Monkeybicycle.

Interview with Monkeybicycle

I have a short but soul-searching interview up on the Monkeybicycle blog, chatting about my story in Monkeybicycle 8, "The New Yorker Fiction Section Presents: Killer Robots from Space."

You can read the interview here and then, duly inspired, buy a copy of the volume 8 here.

"both amusing and melancholy, a mixture of silliness and sadness"

Check out this brief but reasonably informative interview with me up on Identity Theory in which I discuss founding and editing The Foghorn.

Review of "Killer Robots from Space"

A great review of Monkeybicycle 8 by Joe Sullivan, and I think the first to mention my story in particular.

Splitsider: The Year's Best Humor Writing

I'm delighted to be on this list of The Year's Best Humor Writing as both a nominator and nominatee.

Also check out work by my friends J. Ryan Stradal, Nathan Pensky, and Jennine Capo Crucet, among others.

The Nervous Breakdown

I'm late to post this, but I was pleased to be included last week in The Nervous Breakdown's Greatest Hits Volume 3 for my story on the "Last Apartment in Paris."

Literary Death Match

A nice Los Angeles Times write-up of the most recent Literary Death Match, which I co-hosted last week. We had a huge turn-out, standing room only, and an enthusiastic audience. I'll have a hand in hosting and producing new matches in the future, stay tuned...

FictionDaily

Yay! My story "Address to the Greenville Senior Women’s Club 35th Annual Pedigreed Dog Show by the Mystery Writer H.L. Lemontre " is FictionDaily's short pick of the day.

2010 Million Writers Award

I'm very pleased to have won this year's MWA award for short fiction. Thanks to Jason Sanford, the judges, and everyone who supported me.

Why, that's a nice surprise

My story "Hospitality" in Wheelhouse was voted one of the top ten best online stories of 2009.

Now the public can vote for the top three! Feel free to vote for me, I won't stop you or anything.